Sara Quiriconi, Storyteller, Content Creator, Wellness Travel Expert, and Founder of Live Free Warrior

Storyteller. Content Creator. Wellness Travel Expert. Yogi. Author. Speaker. Addict Conqueror. Cancer Survivor. Coach. Movement Specialist. Founder of Live Free Warrior 

While recovery from substance abuse is not always full of success stories, those that do live to tell the tale often become mentors for others in recovery too, or at least give them hope that there is a way out.

For our guest this week, Sara Quiriconi, addictions and eating disorders controlled a big portion of her life. She was to be thrown a few other curve balls that put her life into perspective and made her realise what is really important.

Sara grew up in a small town called Stratford, Connecticut. She spent time hanging out and working in a ski and snowboard shop her parents owned. She learned from a young age about entrepreneurship and the values of hard work. Her first entrepreneurial experience was selling bubble gum balls for 25¢ and she would split the monthly profits with her Grandfather and brother.

As a young teenager, she really desired to be more liked and often felt like she was not living up to expectations. She increasingly sought external validation and approval from others. This led to her feeling disassociated with parts of herself. She tried to control her surroundings a lot, and the perfectionist in her grew. In an attempt to control things more, her struggle with anorexia crept in.

In high school, someone was giving her a neck massage and found a little lump on her neck. She didn’t think anything of it and ended up giving it a little name, Bean. Overtime, little bean started to grow more and more, to the point it was almost the size of a golf ball. At 19, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The chemotherapy treatment, she hated. She was fearful every day about if her hair was going to fall out. As Sara says, “As a female, you really identify, even males, you identify with how you look. If you're already self-conscious about how you look and you don't like how your body is and then your hair’s gonna fall out...it doubles the, ‘I really don't like myself factor’. 

Things started coming together for Sara after finding yoga! For the first time she started to FEEL again. It took ages though, 3-4 years, to really enjoy yoga. Yoga challenged her differently to other sports she was used to. It really helped her build physical and mental strength and resilience, which then started to positively impact other areas of her life.

Yoga and self discovery sometimes lead to much bigger shifts and changes in our lives. We start to understand who we really are and what we really want from life. One of those for Sara, meant getting divorced and moving back to Miami. She also craved the warmth!

Sara is known as the Live Free Warrior. She has written a book called Live Cancer Free, which is not only about cancer, but the other sorts of dis-eases that we have in our lives. She likes to teach people about the importance of everyday movement and has an aptly named series called Unfck Your Body! Her list of titles goes on, but the best part about this lady is that she shoots from the hip, speaks from great personal experience and articulates her message very astutely.

We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Let’s find out what it means for Sara Quiriconi, to be Ridiculously Human. 

Your fellow beings,

Craig and Gareth

SHOW NOTES

Background, Context & Reference

• Connect with Sara Quiriconi: Website | Instagram | FaceBook | YouTube | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Vimeo |
• Sara’s book and programs:
• • Living Cancer Free - Book
  • Live Free Renew - Program
  • Unfcuk Your Body - Program

Other relevant points discussed and mentioned:  

• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Ashtanga Yoga
• Vimeo

People Discussed

• Nikki Sharp

Places Mentioned

• Miami, Florida

Music By

• The Bambuseae Rhythm Section - Check them out here
• The Simon Van Gend Band - Check them out here

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